


Father + Son + Shaving

by violetvaria



Series: Stable AU [14]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Facial Shaving, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hugging, Stable AU, dad!Jack, silliness, teen!Mac, very little plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21896686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetvaria/pseuds/violetvaria
Summary: “Okay.” Jack clapped again. “Good choice. Now lather up.” He took the can from his son and proceeded to apply shaving cream generously over his face, gesturing for Mac to do the same. “No, don’t be stingy with it. Like this!” Jack slapped a giant handful of cream on Mac’s cheek, somehow managing to get white fluff on both his nose and in his ear.“Jack!” Mac yelped, jumping back.Or: Jack decides to teach Mac how to shave.~~~set in dickygrysvn's Stablehands + Stable Homes AU and alongside slightly_ajar's Stable AU
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: Stable AU [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1270502
Comments: 18
Kudos: 41
Collections: Stable_AU





	Father + Son + Shaving

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Stablehands + Stable Homes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17294171) by [dickgrysvn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dickgrysvn/pseuds/dickgrysvn). 

> Thanks, as always, to the gracious and talented dickgrysvn for creating and sharing this AU! The phenomenal [**Stablehands + Stable Homes**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17294171) is a must-read!
> 
> Thanks also to the lovely and brilliant slightly_ajar, whose massively delightful [**Christmas Squared**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21821884) inspired this story.
> 
> WARNING (in the interests of being extra cautious): extremely mild non-graphic partial nudity (they're shirtless)
> 
> Be aware that everything I know about how men shave I learned from a few quick videos, so please overlook any inaccuracies.

Mac had known for days that his dad was up to something. He really should have figured it out sooner.

The first clue was the humming. Mac had learned that Jack often whistled or hummed or sang while he worked, so he didn’t give it a lot of thought, and considering his dad’s repertoire of recognizable songs was fairly limited, it didn’t even strike Mac as overly strange that he kept hearing the same tune over and over again.

He should have put it together.

The next clue was Jack’s fascination with cupping his son’s face in one hand. This was not unprecedented—Jack was extremely tactile, after all—but the increasing frequency was new, as was the soft smile as his dad rubbed one thumb along Mac’s jawline.

But Jack never did that outside the house, so Mac tolerated it silently. And if he enjoyed the affection a little bit, as long as he didn’t say anything, no one needed to know, right?

So he was slower than he should have been at connecting the dots.

The final clue was both the most noticeable and the easiest to overlook. Mac didn’t think much of it when his dad’s stubble turned into full-on scruff, eventually verging on beard territory. After all, Jack didn’t shave every day. Maybe he’d been busy. Or maybe he wanted to grow a beard. Mac didn’t figure he was in any position to judge someone else’s appearance, although considering how often Jack teased him about his blond hair getting too long, he felt justified in the few Santa Claus jokes he tossed at his dad.

In hindsight, it was blindingly obvious.

Jack prodded his son out of bed one Sunday morning, grinning like one of the jack-o-lanterns they’d finally taken down from Halloween.

“Wha—” Mac rolled over, blinking blearily. He wasn’t unused to early mornings, but when he hadn’t been planning on rising at this unholy hour, it took a few minutes to focus on his dad’s excited face.

“Come on, kid! It’s a special day!”

Mac processed that in silence. As far as he could recall, the date held no significance. Although he was still a little fuzzy on exactly what day it was, so he could be wrong.

“Up and at ‘em, kiddo! Go hop in the shower.” Jack nudged him hard enough that Mac nearly fell off the bed.

“Shower?” Mac blinked, suddenly realizing that his dad was in a bathrobe and, as far as the teen could tell, not much else. He flushed, trying to leap off the other side of the bed, ending up tangled in the sheets. He nearly took a header onto the floor, but Jack lunged across the mattress to grab his arm, his robe flapping open, and Mac was beyond relieved to realize his dad was wearing pajama pants and was merely shirtless under the terrycloth robe.

That didn’t explain much, but it wasn’t as bad as Mac had initially feared, so after extricating himself from the bedding—made more difficult thanks to Jack “helping”—he got out of bed.

“You want me to shower?” he clarified. He just managed to refrain from discreetly sniffing his armpit. He’d showered last night after working at the stable. He couldn’t have gotten that dirty since then, could he?

“Mac!” Jack wore a strange smile, along with an excited gleam in his eyes that Mac had seen before, most recently when his dad urged him out the door so they could go to the Halloween fair together. “Hurry it up, will ya? Use plenty of hot water. Wash your face.” Jack made a shooing motion.

Mac stood his ground. “What’s going on, Jack?”

“I’ll tell you when you get out. Go on, move it!”

“Are you…” Mac hesitated to put his suspicions into words, afraid of giving his dad ideas if they weren’t already there. “Are you trying to wash my hair for me or something?”

Jack blinked. “Um, do you need me to, hoss? ‘Cause I can—”

“No! No, I’m good. Totally able to shower by myself.”

Jack laughed far harder than his son’s small burst of snark warranted. “Then get a move on! You got five minutes, kid.”

“Now I’m being timed?” Mac grumbled, but he wasn’t really upset. He gathered a change of clothes, letting out a startled squeak when his dad plucked the t-shirt from his hands.

“Don’t need that.”

“Jack! You want me to go without a shirt?”

Unfazed, Jack crossed to the closet and pulled out a little-used bathrobe. “Here.”

“Jack, what kind of—”

“Go on.” His dad shoved him toward the bathroom. “Time’s a-wastin’, son.”

Mac had barely managed to towel off his hair when he heard the knock on the bathroom door. With a sigh, he opened it.

“Surprise!” Jack held up a plastic shopping bag as though it held a genie ready to grant unlimited wishes. “Got you somethin’.”

“What is it?” Mac eyed his dad suspiciously. Jack was acting so _weird_. Even more than usual.

Jack thrust the package into his hands and waved at him to open it up.

Mac stared at the contents for a while. “A razor,” he finally said flatly.

“Today’s the day!” Jack announced gleefully. “I’m gonna teach you how to shave.”

“Um, Jack—”

“No, I know what you’re gonna say. You ain’t got much to worry about yet, son, but it’s comin’.” Jack fondly traced Mac’s chin with his thumb. “Best to be prepared, yeah?”

The teen felt himself turning red. “Jack—” he tried again.

“I made sure I’ve got plenty to show you.” Jack flicked at his own thick facial hair, which for some reason made Mac blush even harder. “We’ll do it together, all right?”

Mac knew exactly what the next words would be.

“It’ll be a great father-son activity!”

Jack was prone to giving this appellation to various events, such as their first father-son shopping trip, immediately followed by their first father-son purchase, and their first—after the adoption—“official” father-son milkshake. Mac was a little embarrassed by the attention, but he couldn’t say much, not after Jack had admitted one night when he was a bit too tired to filter himself properly how much he regretted not being there to teach Mac to walk or talk or eat. The teen had attempted to make him feel better by reminding him that babies mostly figured those things out on their own and just needed a little help refining those skills. For some reason, this didn’t improve Jack’s mood, and for the rest of the evening, he kept muttering things like “tying your shoes” and “brushing your teeth.”

Mac knew it was really important to his dad to be able to teach him things. Jack’s huge, giving heart was expressed through sharing, and sharing knowledge and skills was a big part of that, something Mac saw every time his dad gave a riding lesson to one of his students at the stable. And while Jack would certainly not consider himself educator material, he was amazingly patient when working one-on-one, thoroughly explaining every step.

His patience was one of the things Mac loved most about his dad. Jack came off as blustery and tactless sometimes, but he never rushed Mac into anything. Never made him feel bad if he didn’t get something perfect on the first try. That had been difficult to get used to when he first came home to Jack.

“Jack,” Mac began cautiously. “We really don’t have to—”

“Of course we do! You don’t think I’m gonna let my son learn somethin’ like this from some YouTube video or somethin’, do you?”

Mac blushed again because he had, in fact, already watched a few such videos. He just hadn’t worked up the courage to try it out yet.

“We’ll work on tying a tie later,” Jack continued blithely. He scratched his beard. “I’ll maybe have to practice that a few times first. Been a while.” He brightened, pushing himself into Mac’s bathroom, forcing the teen to take a step back until he was in front of the mirror. “But it’s probably like riding a bike, right?” His eyes narrowed. “You—”

“_Yes_, I know how to ride a bike, Jack,” Mac sighed, not for the first time. One of these days he was going to say no, just to see how his dad would react. He softened at Jack’s expression, adding kindly, “But you taught me how to ride a horse, remember?”

Jack smiled, running his fingers through his kid’s damp blond locks. “Yeah, kiddo. Our first father-son lesson.”

“We weren’t—” Mac cut himself off before his could finish saying that they hadn’t been father and son at that time. On his best days, he could forget for a few minutes that there had ever been a time Jack wasn’t his dad. “I mean, you sure you want to shave off that Grizzly Adams look you’re going for?”

Jack grinned. “For you, kid, I would shave off anything.”

“Ew.”

“Let’s get started.” Jack clapped his hands eagerly. “You know why I had you shower first?”

Mac did know, but he decided to humor his dad. “Why?”

“Opens up your pores and makes your bristles softer.” Jack smirked. “Not that your peach fuzz could get much softer, but develop good habits, son.”

“Jack…” Mac groaned.

“All right, cream or gel? I got both so you can choose.”

Mac doubtfully investigated both containers, eyeing his hovering dad out of the corner of his eye to see if there were a correct answer. Jack didn’t react when Mac tested a bit of each on his fingers, and Mac finally indicated the shaving cream only because it was most similar to the videos he’d seen.

“Okay.” Jack clapped again. “Good choice. Now lather up.” He took the can from his son and proceeded to apply shaving cream generously over his face, gesturing for Mac to do the same. “No, don’t be stingy with it. Like this!” Jack slapped a giant handful of cream on Mac’s cheek, somehow managing to get white fluff on both his nose and in his ear.

“Jack!” Mac yelped, jumping back.

“Oops. Sorry, kid.”

“You did that on purpose!”

“Did not!” Jack denied hotly, not looking the least bit repentant. “You just…moved.”

“I was _standing still_,” Mac hissed, more as a distraction than because he was really angry.

“Well, you—ack!” Jack let out a shout when Mac managed a direct hit to his chest with the can he’d snuck off the counter. “Oh, it is _on_, little boy!”

Twenty minutes later, the fight sputtered to a halt when both the shaving cream and the gel rattled and squirted out their last. Panting, father and son paused and surveyed the bathroom.

“I think the mirror got the worst of it,” Jack said finally. “And the floor.”

“Other than—” With a smirk, Mac gestured at his dad, who had eventually discarded the cream-covered gown and now sported giant globs of foam on his back, chest, and shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You fight dirty.” Jack ran a finger through some of the fluff and booped his son on the nose.

“Hey!” Mac protested, eyes crossing. “I thought we called a truce!”

“You’re right, you’re right. Let’s—uhh…clean up, I guess?”

It was easier than Mac expected to wipe up the remnants of their battle.

“You know, shaving cream is actually good for cleaning mirrors,” Jack said conversationally as he scrubbed at the glass.

“How so?”

“Prevents fogging. You’ll see next time you take a shower. Your mirror won’t steam up at all.”

“Huh.” Mac digested this. “Did Nana teach you that?”

“Nah. Army.” At the teen’s puzzled look, Jack reluctantly elaborated, “Works on glasses and—and scopes too.”

Mac said nothing, knowing Jack didn’t often talk about his Army days unless he were sharing a humorous anecdote. After working for a few minutes in silence, he ventured, “Might test that theory right away. I think I need another shower.”

Jack studied his son fondly, grabbing a clean towel and rubbing some shaving gel from Mac’s hair. “Nah, it’ll be all right. It’s easy after a shower, but there’re other ways.”

Mac blinked. “What’s easy?”

“Shaving! That’s what we’re doing, remember?”

“Oh.” Mac dropped his gaze. It _had_ kind of slipped his mind.

When the bathroom was more or less clean, Jack ran two hand towels under hot water, wrung them out, and handed one to Mac. “Wash your face and then just hold that up for a couple minutes,” he directed. “You gotta make sure you’re all clean, and the heat’ll—”

“Soften the hair, I know.”

“Sure, baby genius. ‘Course you know.”

“Jack?”

“Yeah?”

“We don’t have any shaving cream left.”

“Hm.” Jack scowled at the counter for a second before his expression cleared. “That’s all right. I’ll just run and get mine. Be right back. Don’t go anywhere!”

Mac wondered where he’d go when he was barefoot, shirtless, and had a towel plastered to his face, but he didn’t comment. In less than a minute, his dad was back.

“Okay, we gotta be serious with this one, all right?” Jack said, setting the can next to the sink.

“I didn’t start it,” Mac reminded him.

“Yeah, whatever. Lather up, kid.”

For the second time, they applied the shaving cream. This time, Mac was careful to layer it thickly, not giving his dad an excuse to do it for him.

“Right!” Jack sounded excited again. “Now for the moment of truth.”

_Please don’t make this a big deal_, Mac wanted to say but couldn’t. He could feel anxiety welling in his stomach. Jack wanted so badly for this to go well, and what if he did it wrong? What if he couldn’t master this simple task that was a rite of passage? What if—

“Hey. Son. Eyes on me.”

Mac shook his head to scatter his worrisome thoughts and focused on Jack.

“You all right, buddy?”

“Y-yeah.”

Jack narrowed his eyes but didn’t call him on it. “It’s gonna be fine, all right? Long as you don’t cut yourself too much, there’s no wrong way.”

“But you—”

“Hey. Didn’t you show me like twelve different ways to lace up your sneakers?”

“Uh, I think I only showed you four, and then you said you’d stick with—”

“Right. Point is, just ‘cause I’m showin’ you the way I do it doesn’t mean you can’t find your own way later. Once you get the hang of the basics. Might take a long time to figure out what’s best for you, and that’s okay, right? Doesn’t need to perfect the first time.”

Mac took a steadying breath. “Right.” He managed a smile. “Gotta be less complicated than manual transmission, right?”

Jack groaned. “Yes, I’m sorry I tried to teach you to drive on a stick-shift. But you passed your test, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Mac acknowledged. “You’re a good teacher.”

Jack paused, apparently attempting to gauge his son’s sincerity. Finding no hint of sarcasm, he cleared his throat and busied himself with the shopping bag. “Here.”

Mac accepted the brand-new razor.

“Make sure you always use a nice sharp blade,” Jack directed. “Probably need to change at least once a week, maybe twice, if you’re shaving every day.” He gave the teen a once-over and smiled. “You probably won’t be shaving every day for a while yet.”

Mac blushed for the countless time and looked at the mirror so he didn’t have to look at his dad, but that just reminded him that they’d discarded their bathrobes during the shaving-cream fight.

“How come we have to do this shirtless?”

Jack shrugged. “Don’t have to, but it’s easier than worryin’ about splashing water all over and getting shaving cream on your shirt. ‘Specially your first time. Okay, you ready?”

Mac tried to imitate the hold Jack had on his razor. “Okay.”

“Light strokes,” Jack instructed, slowly gliding his razor along one cheek. “Don’t press too hard. If you have to, it’s time to change your blade. If you feel tugging or pulling, you need to change your blade. If you’re getting lots of cuts—”

“Change your blade?”

“Knew you were a quick learner.”

Mac concentrated on keeping his hand feather light as he scraped at the foam on his face.

“Well, a little harder than that, son. You gotta actually touch your skin.”

“Oh.” Mac flushed.

“You’re doin’ good. Short, gentle motions. Good, just like that,” Jack encouraged. “Okay, now rinse off the blade.” He took his own advice. “Gotta do that every few strokes.”

Copying Jack’s movements, Mac slowly shaved his jawline and chin.

“Use the single blade for delicate areas. Get your mind outta the gutter. I mean like under your nose.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything!” Mac protested.

“Uh-huh. Pull the skin tight. Makes it easier.”

“Jack!” Mac shoved Jack’s hand away from his face.

“What? I’m just demonstrating.”

“_Demonstrating_ doesn’t require _touching_. I almost cut you.”

Jack’s indignant reply died on his lips, and his expression softened. “Okay, you’re right. Sorry, kiddo. You can do it yourself. Just be careful.”

Mac angled his body slightly to make it less likely Jack would stick his hand in the path of the razor again, but Jack just watched as the teen carefully shaved his upper lip.

“Good. Now on the neck, you can start with the grain, and then against the grain for a closer shave. Ladies sometimes like a bit of stubble, but if you want smooth, you want _real_ smooth, got it?” Jack winked.

“Jaaack.”

“Careful, though. Never go over the same place too many times. That’s just askin’ for razor burn. Hard to really cut yourself too bad with one o’ these, but I’ve had a few close shaves with ‘em in my time.” Jack nudged his son. “Get it? Close shaves?”

Mac groaned in response. “Who are you, Shaun the Sheep?”

Jack snickered, remembering the films Mac had unearthed online and insisted on showing his dad. “You do kinda remind me of Gromit.”

“Does that make you Wallace?”

“Okay, back on track. You can wipe off any cream that’s left and see if you missed any spots. It’s okay to lather up and try again if you did.”

Mac noticed Jack felt along his jaw in addition to twisting to look at various angles in the mirror, so he mimicked the gesture. He hadn’t had much hair to begin with, but his face did feel smoother. Cleaner.

“How’s it feel?”

“Um, good, I think.”

“Let me see.”

Mac allowed his dad to take his chin in hand and turn his face one way and another, grinning broadly.

“Looks real fine, kid! You did good!”

Mac lifted one shoulder, feigning indifference, but he felt a warm glow at the praise.

“All right, almost done. Cold water now to close up those pores.” Jack splashed water a bit more vigorously than strictly necessary, causing the teen to leap back to avoid getting soaked.

“Hey!”

Jack just chuckled, drying his face and gesturing for Mac to use the sink.

“Here you go, kiddo. I got you some different flavors to choose from.”

“Flavors?” Mac wrinkled his nose as Jack produced three different bottles of aftershave lotion.

“Pick whichever one you want.”

Mac dutifully investigated the bottles, turning away to sniff each one, not trusting his dad not to toss them in his face or something if given the opportunity.

Jack just watched him, though, eyes still bright and affectionate, and he smiled broadly when Mac chose the most familiar scent, the one he could smell on his dad some mornings.

Both Daltons slapped the liquid onto their freshly shaved faces, and Mac closed his eyes for a second to inhale the scent. It was a smell that meant _Jack_ to him, that meant safety and home. He doubted he’d ever be able to use a different kind.

“That’s all there is to it.” Jack settled a hand on the back of his kid’s neck, massaging the muscles there with his thumb. “Not so bad, right?”

“It did take almost an hour,” Mac pointed out. Most of that had been because of the shaving cream debacle, but still…

“Eh.” Jack shrugged. “You’ll get faster. Just don’t go too fast. Don’t want you gettin’ cut up. Take your time at first. Pretty soon you’ll be doin’ it in two minutes.”

“Okay…” Mac said slowly, wondering about this significance of this time limit.

“You know, like the song. I mean, not the haircut part, but if you can do a quick shave in two minutes, that’s pretty good, you know?”

“Jack, what are you talking about?”

“You don’t know it?” Jack tapped the familiar rhythm, humming along before singing, “Shave and a haircut, two minutes!”

Mac’s mouth dropped. “Ja—” he wheezed before he started laughing.

“What?”

“It’s two _bits_. You’ve been humming that for days. How do you not know that?”

“Two bits? That don’t make no sense. What—”

“A quarter, Jack. Two bits is twenty-five cents.”

Jack stared openmouthed. “Says who?” he finally asked.

“Uh, my history teacher? Figured it was something you’d know, old-timer.” Mac’s eyes sparkled with mirth.

“Old-timer? Why, you—” Jack grabbed the half-full can of shaving cream and held it up threateningly, but he couldn’t hold back a grin.

Mac lifted his hands placatingly. “Okay, okay, no need to be hasty.”

“And to think I spent my whole morning teachin’ some ungrateful pup…was even gonna do a load of laundry for you.” Even as he complained, Jack was picking up both bathrobes and making his way toward the laundry room.

Mac headed to his room to finish getting dressed, wandering out to the kitchen afterward. He knew Jack had been teasing, but he did feel a little bad about poking fun after his dad had been so nice about teaching him to shave.

“Jack?” he asked hesitantly.

“Mm-hm?” Jack turned from snagging two bowls from the cupboard. “Cereal okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Mac automatically crossed to the coffeemaker and switched it on. “Um, thanks for—thanks for helping me.”

And then Jack’s arms, strong and warm, were around him, and even though Mac knew he was probably nose-blind to their aftershave by now, he imagined he could smell the familiar scent. He breathed in deeply.

“Thanks for lettin’ me,” Jack murmured into his son’s hair. “It’s what I’m here for, you know?”

Mac rested his head on his dad’s shoulder. “Can I tell you something?”

“Always, son.”

“I already know how to tie a tie.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I—I wore one sometimes for…stuff at school.”

“Ah.” Jack rested his cheek against Mac’s soft blond hair. “Well, you can teach me, how ‘bout that? I haven’t worn one in…well, probably since ‘fore you were born. Might impress Diane.” Mac couldn’t see his dad’s face, but he heard his smile.

“Okay.” Mac smiled too. He liked when he was able to return the favor and show Jack something he didn’t know. He let his dad pull him a little closer. “Jack?”

“Mm-hm?”

“I don’t really know how to ride a bike.”

Jack straightened up sharply. “What?”

“I mean, I know how in theory, and I tried it a couple times with Bozer, but…I never really…”

“Okay, you know what we’re doing next weekend, right?”

“We don’t have to—”

“Oh, we most certainly do. Don’t worry, kiddo. You’ll be an expert in no time.” Jack kissed his son’s forehead, and Mac thought about how it felt different when Jack was totally cleanshaven. Not unpleasant, just different. Jack released him and waltzed over to the cereal cabinet while Mac poured coffee into two mugs.

A little white lie was worth seeing Jack so happy, Mac decided, watching his dad spin around the kitchen, humming. And it was more exaggeration than lie. True, he hadn’t had his own bicycle in his younger years, but he’d borrowed one from Bozer on a few occasions, enough to have a basic grasp of the mechanics. But it couldn’t hurt to let Jack give him some pointers.

He smiled as he recognized Jack’s song just as the humming turned into singing.

“_But you’ll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built by two_.” Jack ruffled his son’s hair as they sat down to eat breakfast.

Mac thought about correcting the line, explaining that it was a “bicycle built _for_ two,” but it occurred to him that he didn’t want to give his dad the idea of a tandem bike. And building one might be fun. He started thinking about what parts they’d need.

Maybe after Jack “taught” him how to ride, he’d tell him the correct words. Or he could tell Jack about the Wright brothers and their bike shop instead. Jack would enjoy that.

Mac was glad they had this time together. They still had a lot to teach each other.

**Author's Note:**

> The familiar folk tune of [**Shave and a Haircut**](https://youtu.be/rIpG0eggtpY) can be heard here, among other places.
> 
> Here is a link for one version of [**A Bicycle Built for Two**](https://youtu.be/JmiNlZAiDqo).
> 
> [**Wallace and Gromit's A Close Shave**](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6v5s2l) can be viewed here.


End file.
